The UK’s energy regulator, Ofgem, has mandated that OVO Energy, one of the country’s largest energy suppliers, compensate customers affected by significant delays in addressing complaints. OVO will pay over £378,000 directly to these customers. Additionally, the company has contributed £2 million to the Energy Industry Voluntary Redress Scheme, a fund designed to support customers and invest in energy-related projects.
Ofgem’s decision follows concerns that OVO failed to adequately protect and respond to its customers during critical times. Jacqui Gehrmann from Ofgem criticized OVO, stating, “This is not acceptable,” due to the “severity of consumer detriment.”
OVO, which is the fourth-largest household energy supplier in Britain with approximately four million customers, faced scrutiny for delays affecting up to 1,395 individuals. Some customers experienced wait times of up to 18 months for their complaints to be addressed.
The regulator noted that even when complaints were escalated to the Energy Ombudsman, there were further delays in implementing the Ombudsman’s decisions. Since Ofgem’s intervention in June, OVO has reportedly improved its complaints handling process.
Ofgem’s investigation highlighted issues with how the company managed complaints referred by Citizens Advice Scotland and its response to decisions made by the Energy Ombudsman.
In response to the regulatory action, an OVO spokesperson stated, “We’re now third in the Citizens Advice energy supplier rankings for service. However, we recognize that a particular group of our customers in 2023 waited longer than we’d like for a resolution and were overdue a response from us. Therefore, we’ve sent them a letter of apology and compensation to help.”
Affected customers will be contacted directly by OVO and will not need to take any additional action to receive their compensation.